"Our membership was aging. We did have 70 members when we disbanded, but we had difficulty finding leadership, and it was a lot of work taking care of this building and doing the things we did," explained former club president Anne Kaufman.

The ladies gathered one last time Tuesday for a picture to go in the Fourth of July program. The ladies will be the grand marshals of the parade this year.

The Catonsville Women's Club started in 1932 as a book club and quickly grew in membership. The women were involved with many charitable organizations and did things to benefit the community. In the 1960s, they were a large part of keeping and growing the integrity of downtown Catonsville.

"We succeeded in a lot of improvements in Catonsville. We cleaned it up. It was in dilapidated condition, really, and things looked much better after that," said club member Becky McNamara.

The club is donating its building on St. Timothy's Lane to the Catonsville Community Foundation, so it will still be put to good use. Of all the good work the Women's Club did, most members said it's the relationships that will stick with them.

"Meeting people, being friends, making a lot of new friends and working together with people -- that's what I enjoyed most," McNamara said.

"I very much enjoyed the friendships, of course, and helping to do things for our community. Being involved in our community was a big thing I enjoyed," Kaufman said.

The women said they're sad to see the club go, but they hope their legacy and the impact of the work they did will live on.

"It's very bittersweet. It's very sad. We will miss our friends, and I will miss the work we do, but we feel like we're doing the best thing for Catonsville," Kaufman said.

The members of the club said they'll still get together informally and plan to have a reunion at least once a year.